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Chapter 13: Problem 30

Would you expect alanine (an amino acid) to be more soluble in water or in hexane?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Alanine is a polar molecule due to the presence of polar amino and carboxyl groups, despite having a non-polar side chain (methyl group). Based on the principle of "like dissolves like," alanine would be expected to be more soluble in the polar solvent water than in the non-polar solvent hexane.

Step by step solution

01

Determine the structure of alanine

Alanine is an amino acid with the chemical formula C3H7NO2. Its structure consists of an amino group (-NH2), a carboxyl group (-COOH), and a side chain (-CH3, a methyl group) all attached to a central carbon atom (called the alpha carbon).
02

Analyze the polarity of the functional groups in alanine

The amino group (-NH2) and the carboxyl group (-COOH) are both polar functional groups, with electronegative nitrogen and oxygen atoms forming polar bonds with their attached hydrogen atoms. On the other hand, the methyl group (-CH3) is a non-polar functional group, as carbon and hydrogen have similar electronegativities.
03

Determine the overall polarity of alanine

Even though alanine has a non-polar side chain (methyl group), the presence of the polar amino and carboxyl groups makes the overall molecule polar.
04

Compare the polarity of alanine to the polarity of the solvents water and hexane

Water is a polar solvent, which is suitable for dissolving polar molecules like alanine. Hexane, on the other hand, is a non-polar solvent, which would have a harder time dissolving a polar molecule.
05

Conclude whether alanine is more soluble in water or hexane

Based on the polarity of alanine and the principle of "like dissolves like," alanine would be expected to be more soluble in the polar solvent water than in the non-polar solvent hexane.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Adrenaline is the hormone that triggers the release of extra glucose molecules in times of stress or emergency. A solution of \(0.64 \mathrm{~g}\) of adrenaline in \(36.0 \mathrm{~g}\) of \(\mathrm{CCl}_{4}\) elevates the boiling point by \(0.49^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\). Calculate the approximate molar mass of adrenaline from this data.

An ionic compound has a very negative \(\Delta H_{\text {soln }}\) in water. (a) Would you expect it to be very soluble or nearly insoluble in water? (b) Which term would you expect to be the largest negative number: $\Delta H_{\text {solvent }}, \Delta H_{\text {solute }}\(, or \)\Delta H_{\text {mix }} ?$

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